At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 68.73 points or 0.10% to 72,085.90. The Nifty 50 index rose 23.25 points or 0.11% to 21,840.70.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.02% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.13%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,637 shares rose and 2,095 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

The provisional figures of Gross collection of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for the Financial Year 2023-24 stand at Rs 22,27,067 crore compared to Rs 18,75,535 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, showing a growth of 18.74% over the collections of FY 2022-23.

The Gross collection of Rs 22,27,067 crore includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 10,98,183 crore and Personal Income Tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 11,25,228 crore. Minor head wise collection comprises Advance Tax of Rs 9,11,534 crore; Tax Deducted at Source of Rs 10,44,511 crore; Self-Assessment Tax of Rs. 1,73,296 crore; Regular Assessment Tax of Rs 73,548 crore; and Tax under other minor heads of Rs 24,177 crore.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas Index gained 1.04% to 11,029.10. The index declined 1.69% in the past trading session.

Oil India (up 2.69%), Aegis Logistics (up 2.01%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 1.91%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.84%), Gujarat State Petronet (up 1.64%), Mahanagar Gas (up 1.52%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 1.51%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (up 1.29%), Reliance Industries (up 1.26%) and GAIL (India) (up 0.32%) advanced.

On the other hand, Gujarat Gas (down 1.18%), Castrol India (down 0.74%) and Adani Total Gas (down 0.66%) edged lower.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper fell 0.04% to 7.092 as compared with the previous close of 7.095.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.1325, compared with its close of 83.0300 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2024 settlement rose 0.08% to Rs 65,635.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.38% to 103.99.

The United States 10-year bond yield declined 0.16% to 4.277.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2024 settlement lost 58 cents or 0.66% to $86.80 a barrel.

Stocks in spotlight:

Rama Steel Tubes tumbled 11.47%. The company said that it has managed to reduce its sanctioned bank loans limits by Rs 115.98 crore, which is 39% of total existing sanctioned limits over the year.

Carysil rose 0.10%. The household appliance maker announced that its board has approved a proposal to raise capital up to Rs 150 crore through qualified institutions placement (QIP)/ preferential issue.